The Vigilante
by Mother Of The Universe
Summary: Volume 1 of the Vigilante series. SUPERHERO AU There are State Superhero's, and there are Vigilante's. One works for the government, the other works for themselves. Among the Vigilante's, is the dangerous Fullmetal, sidekick to the Flamel. He is on his way to becoming his own hero, but when that happens, what path will he take next? Rated T for swearing and gore.
1. Prologue

**So, yeah, I'm now working on four stories at once. Ha-ha. I suck.**

 **But I couldn't get this AU out of my head!** ** _The Vigilante_** **is gonna be a collection of six-chapter stories. Or Volumes, as I'm gonna be calling them. Cause I'm fancy.**

 **Should I be working on another story when I'm still trying to write something else? Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! HELL NO! But my judgment skills are limited. So this story is being published.**

 **Yes, it's a superhero AU. I've seen a few, but I've never seen any become more than one or two chapters. I've haven't seen a complete FMA superhero AU yet. So here's mine!**

 **Disclaimer: FMA is not mine. It won't be mine. It will never ever ever ever ever ever be mine.**

 **And without further ado, on with the show!**

* * *

Prologue

* * *

Throughout Amestris, there are dozens of individuals with unique powers, incomprehensible to all but them. The powers range from greater-than-average aim to bending the elements to one's will.

Working in the light, are State Superhero's. Working under the government, they fight for truth, justice, and the law.

Working in shadow's, however, are the unregulated superhero's, known as Vigilante's. These hero's work for no one, and they fight for themselves, never breaking their own moral code, no matter what upstanding law get's in the way.

Both groups are dangerous. The State Superhero's are well-known for being merciless Dogs of the Government, who will even break their own moral code to get things done, going so far as to destroy the innocent because the Government deems them guilty. The Vigilante's, however, are uncontrolled, and unregulated. There is no possible way of predicting a Vigilante's next move, or what method's they will use to fight for good.

Among the Vigilante's is a dangerous Superhero known as the Flamel. She was one of the most powerful superhero's the Government had seen, second only to The Red Stone, who had been missing for years. Working under Flamel was her prodigy, Fullmetal, who had the potential to become even more powerful than his mentor.

Fullmetal will become his own superhero very soon, finally ready to step out from under the wings of Flamel, and make his own mark on the world. But when the time comes, when he can choose a path of his own, what will he become? A State Superhero, or a Vigilante?

Or will his past finally beat him down, causing him to become the most wicked of villains the world has ever seen?

* * *

 **Ok, that was short. Like Ed (sorry not sorry), but it's background information that should become important.**

 **At the start of this story, Ed's gonna be little more than a sidekick for The Flamel, but eventually become his own superhero, starting his real adventure. I hope this prologue doesn't seem cheesy, cause I think it does, but I wrote this very quickly, so whatever.**

 **I _will_ get to my other stories. I am working on them now. I just couldn't let this one go. So yeah, let's see what happens. **

**Leave a review! Tell me what you think! And whoever guesses who the Flamel is gonna be get's a cookie (but I think it may be obvious)**

 **~MotherUniverse signing out!**


	2. Chapter 1: State Superheroes

**What is this? Another chapter? Yes, yes it is. Should I be working on _this_ story when I should put other stories as my first priority? Probably not. Am I working on this? Yes. 'Cause you know what? I suck!**

 **Thank you to those who reviewed. DarkAgea, you get a cookie. Because your awesome. **

**My day hasn't been the greatest. I'm really tired. So the AN is gonna seem really curt. Sorry.**

 **Disclaimer: FMA is not mine, bla bla bla. Don't care.**

 **And without further ado, on with the show!**

* * *

Chapter 1: State Superheroes

* * *

State Superheroes work for the Amestrian Government. They carry out their orders to the letter. They do not disobey. They do not question their orders. They do not complain, or demand an explanation. They do their best to uphold the absolute justice, and they see the world in black and white. Not an inch of grey areas should slip into their vision. They do not see the world in black in white because they want to, but because it is the best way to carry out their orders properly. Greatness awaits those who become State Superheroes, but often at the cost of their own personal morals.

Below is a list of some of the more well-known State Superheroes.

* * *

 **The Flame**

Identity: Roy Mustang

Powers: Pyrokinesis (Primary). The transformation of normal materials into explosive materials (Secondary).

Background: Raised at Chris Mustang's foster home. Parents are unknown. Gained his powers while working with Berthold Hawkeye. Secrete to his Pyrokinesis supposedly lies with the Hawk's Eye (Riza Hawkeye)

Relationships: Hawk's Eye (Riza Hawkeye; _Sidekick_ ); Protector (Maes Hughes; _Comrade_ ); Jean Havoc, Heymans Breda, Vato Fallman, Kaine Fury ( _Subordinates_ ); Lt. General James Grumman ( _Taskmaster_ )

Race: Half Xingese, Half Amestrian

Immediate Family: Unknown. Has no recolection of birth parents. Most likely died during his infancy.

* * *

 **Hawk's Eye**

Identity: Riza Hawkeye

Powers: Unnaturally accurate Marksmanship (Primary). Knowledge and accurate usage of all weapons (Secondary). Agility and Acrobatics (Tertiary).

Background: Raised by father, Berthold Hawkeye. Trained in marksmanship in military academy, joined the State Superheroes Program as Roy Mustang's Sidekick after the Ishval War. Supposedly holds the secrete to Pyrokinesis.

Relationships: The Flame (Roy Mustang; _Superior_ ); Jean Havoc, Heymans Breda, Vato Fallman, Kaine Fury ( _Teammates_ )

Race: Amestrian (Of Welleslin Decent)

Immediate Family: Berthold Hawkeye (Father), Lt. General James Grumman (Grandfather), Margaret Hawkeye (Previously Margaret Grumman; Mother; Deceased)

* * *

 **Protector**

Identity: Maes Hughes

Powers: Empathy (Primary). Empathic Healing (Secondary).

Background: Raised by parents, Molly and Arthur Hughes. Developed powers after undergoing brain surgery at an early age.

Relationships: The Flame (Roy Mustang; _Comrade_ ); The Strong Arm (Alex Armstrong; _Subordinate_ ) Hoffman Fokker ( _Subordinate_ ); Sheska Leno ( _Assistant_ ); Lt. General James Grumman ( _Taskmaster_ )

Race: Amestrian (Of Cameren Decent)

Immediate Family: Arthur Hughes (Father; Deceased); Molly Hughes (Previously Molly Simon; Mother; Deceased); Gracia Hughes (Previously Gracia Brooks; Spouse); Elicia Hughes (Daughter)

* * *

 **Strong Arm**

Identity: Alex L. Armstrong

Powers: Transformation of Earth (Primary). Super Strength (Secondary)

Background: Raised by Philip and Abigail Armstrong, along with his sisters. Superpowers given to the eldest Armstrong son for the past six generations.

Relationships: Protector (Maes Hughes; _Superior_ ); Maria Ross, Denny Brosh ( _Subordinates_ ); Lt. General James Grumman ( _Taskmaster_ )

Race: Pure Amestrian

Immediate Family: Philip G. Armstrong (Father); Abigail Armstrong (Previously Abigail Humbergane; Mother); Olivier M. Armstrong (Eldest Sister); Amue L. Armstrong (Elder sister); Strongine C. Armstrong (Elder sister); Catherine E. Armstrong (Youngest Sister)

* * *

 **Silver Cyborg**

Identity: Frank Archer

Powers: Body parts can transform into weapons (Primary). Technological connection (Secondary). Accuracy of Aim (Tertiary)

Background: Raised by Latina Archer. Superpowers gained as result of multiple automail implants after suffering multiple injuries during the Ishval War.

Relationships: Major General Collin Hakuro ( _Taskmaster_ )

Race: Amestrian (Half Pure Amestrian, Other Half unknown)

Immediate Family: Latina Archer (Mother; Deceased); Father is unknown

* * *

 **Hailstone**

Identity: Major General Olivier M. Armstrong

Powers: Glaciokinesis (Primary); Control over snow storms (secondary)

Background: Raised by Philip and Abigail Armstrong. Eldest of the Armstrongs. Joined the military at 18. Posted at Briggs at 22. Gained powers during an accident with experimental weapons.

Relationships: Aram Miles ( _Immediate Subordinate_ ); Brock Buccaneer ( _Immediate Subordinate_ ); Soldiers of Briggs ( _Subordinates_ )

Race: Pure Amestrian

Immediate Family: Philip G. Armstrong (Father); Abigail Armstrong (Previously Abigail Humbergane; Mother); Amue L. Armstrong (Younger sister); Strongine C. Armstrong (Younger sister); Alex L. Armstrong (Brother); Catherine E. Armstrong (Youngest Sister)

* * *

 **And done!**

 **Yeah, this chapter was pretty basic and lame. But let me clarify a few definitions!**

 **Subordinate vs. Sidekick: A subordinate is someone who works under you. A Sidekick is someone who works with you, but your in charge of them.**

 **Sidekick vs. Comrade: Sidekick works with you, but your in charge of them. A comrade works with you, but your not in charge of them. Kinda simple.**

 **Taskmaster: A high-ranking officer who get's placed in charge of the different State Superheroes, and tells them what to do.**

 **Immediate Subordinate vs Subordinate: If you are in charge of an entire command base (like Olivier Armstrong), you will have these. Immediate subordinates work directly under you, and plain subordinates are people you are generally in charge of, but usually won't have immediate access to.**

 **I will have characters from all sources of FMA. Including (but not limited to) the 2003 series, the manga, and brotherhood. So all characters will be featured. Including Frank Archer (or silver cyborg). For his appearance, imagine his cyborg upgrade towards the end of 2003, but looking a little more like human limbs than those praying mantice legs he got. And he talks like a normal human being.**

 **The powers I gave Hughes are basically this; He can sense people's emotions (not read their minds. Theres a difference), and calm them down if neccessary. He's not the most powerful bean in the bag, but this is my fic, and I wanted to give him superpowers. So there.**

 **I gave Olivier Ice powers. Cause why the hell not.**

 **Those are not every State Superhero, but they're the one's that are gonna be more relevant in this series.**

 **Next chapter, we get some information about the Vigilantes!**

 **God, I need a nap.**

 **~MotherUniverse signing out!**


	3. Chapter 2: Vigilantes

**Hey, I've just posted one chapter per day three days in a row! Look at me go!**

 **I'm not gonna talk about my other stories. Cause I know they exist. I just had a general excitement about this, so I'll be working on it for a bit.**

 **There were a few definitions I forgot to define last time;**

 **Primary vs. Secondary vs. Tertiary Powers: Primary powers are the aspect of one's powers which they use the most, are best at using, and are most recognized. For secondary, they are a little less good at this aspect or use it a little less, or are less known for it, then I think you can guess what Tertiary is.**

 **There are a few exceptions however; Winry's automail knowledge is classified as a secondary power, even though it's more of her main strength. Her primary power is more flashy, however, so it's listed as primary, since she's more well-known for it.**

 **Also, if the first/last names are not mentioned within any of the FMA source material, I will make a name up. If the character only theoretically exist (Hughes parents, Archer's parents, etc.) I will also make their names up. And I know I named Hughe's parents after Molly and Arthur Weasley. Sue me.**

 **One more thing to clear up! When I say "Relationships", I mean professional relationships, as in who the superheroes work with while doing their jobs. Not who their friends with during their time off. There's a _big_ difference. **

**Disclaimer: FMA is not mine, you know the drill**

 **And without further ado, on with the show!**

* * *

Chapter 2: Vigilantes

* * *

While the State Superheroes work out in the open, Vigilantes work in shadow. They listen to no one. They use their own morals to dictate their actions, not the morals of the government. Most of them are practically unknown, barely reaching the record books. They are unregulated, and hidden. It is impossible to control them.

Here is a list of some of the known Vigilantes

* * *

 **The Flamel**

Identity: Izumi Curtis (Previously Izumi Harnet)

Powers: The ability to turn any object/element into something else of equal proportion/matter (Primary). Unnatural talent in combat and agility (Secondary).

Background: Raised by foster father, Jake Harnet (Deceased). Source of powers unknown.

Relationships: Fullmetal (Edward Elric; _Sidekick_ )

Race: Half-Xingese; Half Amestrian

Immediate Family: Birth Parents unknown. Sig Curtis (Husband). William Curtis (Son; Deceased)

* * *

 **Automail**

Identity: Winry Rockbell

Powers: Mechanical inventions used to enhance her fighting abilities (Primary); Advance knowledge on all types of Automail, combat or otherwise (Secondary)

Background: Raised first by Father and Mother, Yuri and Sarah Rockbell, then Grandmother, Pinako Rockbell, after their deaths. Gained mechanical skills from various teachers, including Pinako Rockbell, Guy Garfiel, and (supposedly) Dominic LeCoult.

Relationships: Fullmetal (Edward Elric; _Partner_ ) Legacy (Paninia Valerie; _Partner_ )

Race: Pure Amestrian

Immediate Family: Yuri Rockbell (Father; Deceased); Sarah Rockbell (Previously Sarah Came; Mother; Deceased); Pinako Rockbell (Previously Pinako Rey; Grandmother)

* * *

 **Legacy**

Identity: Paninia Valerie

Powers: Unnatural Agility (Primary); Weapon-equipped Automail Legs (Secondary)

Background: Raised by Alice and David Valerie. Lost Legs in train accident, and given weapon-equipped Automail by Dominic LeCoult.

Relationships: Automail (Winry Rockbell; _Partner_ )

Race: Amestrian (Specifically Sophmen)

Immediate Family: Alice Valerie (Previously Alice Michael; Mother; Deceased), David Valerie (Father; Deceased), Diana Valerie (Eldest Sister; Deceased)

* * *

 **Red Stone**

Identity: Unknown

Powers: True extent of powers is unknown. Can create anything out of basically nothing (Primary); Supposed immortality/invincibility (Secondary, Unproven)

Background: Unknown

Relationships: None

Race: Supposedly Xerxean

Immediate Family: Unknown

 **Currently MIA**

* * *

 **Fullmetal**

Identity: Edward Elric

Powers: Can create anything out of anything of equal proportion (Primary); Limited knowledge of combat experience (Secondary); Supposedly turns into an invincible killing machine is called 'short' (Tertiary)

Background: Raised by Trisha Elric (mother), than Pinako Rockbell after her death. Source of Powers unknown.

Relationships: The Flamel (Izumi Curtis; _Mentor_ ), Automail (Winry Rockbell; _Partner_ )

Race: Half Amestrian (Of Cameron Decent), other half unknown (theoretically Xerxean)

Immediate Family: Trisha Elric (Mother; Deceased), Father unknown, Alphonse Elric (Youngest Brother; **MIA** )

* * *

 **And that's the end of it!**

 **So those are some of the better known Vigilante's. They definitely wont be the only one's though. They're just the one's you need to know about.**

 **So, some minor details. I gave Paninia a (dead) older sister just to add some more depth to her character, and because it is very unrealistic that every character in FMA is an only child. We'll be finding out more about Izumi's dead son later, but he will be similar to 2003's Wrath, because, well, you probably know why.**

 **Red Stone won't be showing up for a while. Most likely not in this volume. But he will become relevant. If you know who he is, you get a cookie, but I'm pretty sure it's extremely obvious. Just pretend it's not.**

 **As for Alphonse, he is currently MIA. What happened to him? You'll find out. But you probably won't like my plans for poor Alphonse. (Calm your worries. So far, I have no plans to kill him off. So far. But then again, I'm known for being spontaneous and unpredictable)**

 **And that's it! If you have any questions (that aren't plot related, cause I won't answer those) then ask them in a review! And if you don't have any questions, leave a review anyways, because I like reviews.**

 **I once got like, five reviews in a day and that was one of the happiest days of my life.**

 **~MotherUniverse signing out!**


	4. Chapter 3: Flamel and Fullmetal

**So, this ended my publish every day schedule. While I'm not gonna be publishing a chapter every day, what I am going to do is publish this story often, at least until I'm done with the volume.**

 **Main plot is finally starting! Let's see what happens!**

 **Disclaimer: FMA is not mine, etc, do I really need to say this anymore?**

 **And without further ado, on with the show!**

* * *

Chapter 3: Flamel and Fullmetal

* * *

Edward Elric was twelve years old when Izumi Curtis took him under her wing and shaped him into the famous Superhero, Fullmetal. His powers were very similar to hers, which she recognized. She taught him, not only to control his powers, but how to use them to fight for good. He started as little more than a broken little boy, in depression from his traumatizing past, but, thanks to Izumi, he was able to become a hero, who helped others avoid the trauma he had experienced.

There was a reason Izumi Curtis was known as the most powerful Vigilante since the Red Stone. One of the reasons was due to her powers being the closest to the Red Stones abilities. But the other was because it was simply the truth. Nobody could take her down. The Flamel was the strongest Vigilante that currently walked the Earth.

Ed had been 15 for three months now. He became the Superhero Fullmetal soon after Izumi took him in. He had been serving as her sidekick ever since. He was proud of the progress he had made while working under her, but he felt as if it was time to step out from under her wings. She agreed.

If this new mission goes well, Fullmetal would be deemed ready to finally become his own Superhero.

Ed had his drivers license now, but he knew better than to ask Izumi if he could drive the car. He had asked when he first got his license, and she seemed to take on the presence of a demon. "Touch the car, and I'll kill you" She had said. If Ed had learned one thing while working under Izumi, he knew to _always_ take her threats seriously. So Ed stayed content with taking shotgun.

The drive from Dublith to Lior was a rather long one, but Ed didn't complain. He knew that it was necessary to get to Lior, because, not only was there an organization centered in that town that was endangering the lives of others, but there were a few rumors about the organizations leader that Ed had found particularly interesting.

 _I don't think you're gonna find what your looking for in Lior_.

'I will' Ed thought. 'I promis'.

 _And if you can't keep that promis?_

'I'll figure out something else. You know I will'

Ed scowled. It wasn't often that he heard from him. But when he did, it was always either something negative, or a vague warning.

"We're nearly there" Flamel told her sidekick. "Remember what I told you,"

"Keep a cool head, don't endanger anyone, and try not to piss off our witnesses," Ed recited in a board tone. It was the three critiques he received from his mentor the most. Mostly because he never did those three things. He would let his temper flair, he would 'accidentally' destroy a few things, resulting in the endangerment of civilians, or he would piss off potential allies with a rude comment, which resulted in a lack of compliance, which would be a major setback on their missions. It was probably why Izumi hadn't let Ed venture out on his own yet.

"Exactly," Izumi confirmed. "If you manage to do those things, I might finally let you go out on your own"

"Noted," Ed replied sullenly. He knew that he would've been out on his own a while ago if he bothered to take those things into account. Ed guessed he would just have to pay attention to his actions this time.

"We're here" Izumi said, driving the car up to their desired destination; the old Church of Leto.

* * *

The Church itself was around 100 years old, the religion it once sponsored dying out a few decades ago, but aspects of the old religion was integrated in Lior's culture. It would be a prime candidate for the basis of a cult.

Lior had been in major debt, since Amestris's most recent civil war resulted in Lior getting the hell taxed out of it. This led to a depression amongst the Liorin people, which one greedy man decided to take advantage of.

Braam Cornello loved money. That much was known about him. He loved money, power, and other possessions, and would do anything to gain them. So he came to a worn out, beaten down town, started a cult, gained a base of followers that would die for their religion. And most of the Liorian citizens who didn't listen to him somehow ended up becoming a 'missing person'. Flamel knew better; those missing people where probably killed by Cornello. Which was why she had to stop him

The Flamel entered the church of Leto, dressed in her full super suit, which had a black Flamel on it's back, fitting her name. Izumi usually kept her unruly hair in dreadlocks, but Flamel left her hair down and loose, held away from her face by a mask. Fullmetal trailed behind her, lifting the red hood of his coat onto his head, creating a shadow that obscured his face, hiding his features. He also sported a black Flamel on the back of his coat.

The two heroes entered the church, surprised that it was empty. The only person in the church at the moment was a young woman with strait black hair, who was kneeling at one of the pews. The woman stood up and turned to the two heros, revealing herself to have rose-red bangs. She appeared to be around 18 years old.

"I'm sorry," the woman said, "But visiting hours are currently over"

"We're not here for visiting," Flamel explained. She then continued to ask, "Miss, do you work here?"

"Sort of," The woman replied happily. "My name is Rose Thomson. I'm the spokesperson of this place"

"That's good. We have a few questions to ask"

Flamel walked closer to Rose. Now that Rose wasn't looking at the visitor from a distance, she was easily able to recognize the woman as the Flamel.

"Your the Flamel," Rose said in awe. Then she got a worried look on her face. "Is there trouble here?" She asked, worried that Flamel was there because of a villain.

Flamel quickly but carefully planned her wording. She didn't want to shock their current witness too much with what she was about to say, since an informative was hard to come by. "I'm afraid so," Flamel said in response to Rose's question. "And it has something do do with your church"

Flamel stood a comfortable distance from Rose, while Fullmetal took a seat on a front row pew, looking bored. Conversing with the witnesses was his least favorite part of the missions. "You are familiar with Letoism, are you not?" Flamel asked Rose.

"Of course!" Rose replied joyously. "I'm the spokesperson for it! Are you interested in joining, Flamel?"

"That's not why I'm here," Flamel said, pausing to think of her next sentence, however;

"The whole 'Letoism' thing is bullshit" Fullmetal stated bluntly, and impulsively. "And that Cornello guy's been using cheep tricks to make you think otherwise,"

Flamel glared at her sidekick. "Fullmetal," she glowered, her tone dangerous.

"I'm just getting to the point," Fullmetal justified himself.

Rose looked less than pleased to hear what he had to say. "It's not 'bullshit'!" She snapped. "Our religion is meant to lead the hopeless into God's light! How is that bullshit!? Or are you some sort of atheist?"

"Atheist isn't quite the word for it" Fullmetal replied, "More like agnostic"

"Ignore him," Flamel demanded. "What he means to say is that we have reason to believe that your priest, Braam Cornello, is an endangerment to your city"

"And how is that?" Rose questioned, in a frustrated tone.

"Have you heard of Michel Chiron?" Flamel asked Rose.

"Yes, his story is an unfortunate one" Rose said sadly. "He died on a camping trip a few months ago. The poor man died without having been lead into Gods light. Dying without hope is the worst possible death"

"Well, I did some digging into his death, and I found something you won't like; He openly stated that Letoism was a lie, so Cornello had him killed." Flamel explained.

"But!" Rose shouted in shock, "that can't possibly be true!"

"We have a lot of proof saying it is!" Fullmetal shouted from his spot.

"No! Father Cornello is a good man! He would never kill anyone,"

"Elizabeth Mannerin?" Flamel questioned.

"She drowned in the nearby lake," Rose replied stubbornly.

"Was there any witness to her death?"

"We found her body in the lake, and we did an autopsy. Nobody had anything to do with her death,"

"Connor McCravin?"

"He's... still missing,"

"Jamie Lyle"

"She killed herself. After her son died,"

"And how did her son die?"

"He..." Rose paused. "I don't know,"

"Rose, what did Cornello do to start this religion when he first came here?" Flamel prodded gently. Fullmetal watched his mentor communicate with Rose. Being a superhero wasn't all about protecting the people and fighting the bad guys, as much as he wished it was. Prodding for information was something that Flamel was rather good at; taking on a kind and motherly tone, making the witness feel like they can talk to her; it was something that Flamel could do that Fullmetal couldn't. And as much as he tried, Fullmetal could never sound like someone one could trust with their words.

Rose took a deep breath, "He performed numerous miracles in front of us. He created flowers out of thin air, and gave life back to dead birds,"

Fullmetal glanced at his mentor with a smirk on his face. Both knew exactly where this was going.

"What were his promises to you?" Flamel then asked. "Did he promis you something that motivated you to join his religion?"

Rose bit her lip, scratched her arm nervously, and shifted her feet uncomfortably. "It's a bit of a personal story," She said sadly.

"I won't judge. I promis. And I won't tell anyone either," Flamel promised.

Rose nodded, took a deep breath, working up her courage. "A year ago, my boyfriend died in a car accident. My parents died when I was young, and I've been living with him and his family ever since; at least until his parents died. His name was Cain, and he was all I had left. I loved him, and then I lost him. But, Father Cornello said that he has the power to bring Cain back to life,"

At that claim, Fullmetal let out a small laugh. He had tried to contain it, but it came out against his will anyways. It wasn't like he found her backstory laughable; He would never laugh at something like that, but it was "Father Cornello's" claim of being able to bring her boyfriend back to life that Ed found hilarious. He quickly shut up when Flamel smacked him on the head a second later, but not before Rose heard him.

"What's so funny about that!?" She snapped.

Fullmetal glanced at Rose, then at Flamel, then back at Rose again. 'Great,' Fullmetal thought. 'I pissed her off. One of the three things I'm not supposed to do. I guess as long as I keep my temper in check, and not destroy to much stuff, I'll still have a chance to become my own superhero,'

"I'm not laughing at your story, honest!" Fullmetal tried to explain himself, feeling awkward. With Flamel's glare looming on him, he couldn't help feeling uncomfortable. "I was laughing about what you said about Cornello," He explained.

"What, you don't believe in his miracles?" Rose growled.

"He says he can restore life to the dead," Fullmetal explained. "I'm pretty sure that's not possible,"

"No! You're just some agnostic, arrogant —" Rose started to shout. However, she was stopped mid-insult by Flamel.

"Rose, the dead don't come back to life," Flamel explained, her voice patient.

"But..." Rose calmed down, hearing Flamel speak. "Why did you come here?" She growled.

"Like we said earlier, we have a lot of evidence pointing to Mr. Cornello is behind most of the disappearances and deaths in this town. But there is a chance he isn't. Do you want to help us figure out wether he's innocent or not?" Flamel asked her.

Rose smiled at this, "Of course! I'll introduce you to him,"

Rose began to lead them off to another part of the church. Fullmetal lingered behind with his mentor.

"I blew it, didn't I?" Fullmetal grumbled.

"Not yet, but you didn't help your case," Flamel said with an unwavering voice.

"Cornello is definitely guilty, right?" Fullmetal asked.

"Oh yes, but forcing the truth down someone's throat doesn't solve anything. It's better they have some preparation before facing it. You would agree, wouldn't you, Fullmetal?"

Fullmetal nodded. He knew this better than anyone.

* * *

Braam Cornello was enjoying himself. His 'religion' had gathered him plenty of money, desirable living conditions, and, of course, loyal followers willing to die for him. When that mysterious woman handed him a strange yet powerful object, which she called "the Philosopher's Stone", he knew at once that he had received magnificent powers with a limitless potential. He wasn't sure where the woman got it from, but to be frank, he didn't care. As long as he wore it on a ring, he could perform "miracles", and use this religion to carry out his plans.

There was a knock on his door. Cornello grumbled. He was planing on spending the night playing solitaire and listening to one of his favorite radio show. He didn't want to talk to people right now. "What is it?" He groaned out.

"Father Cornello, it's me, Miss Thompson," Came Rose's voice from the other side of the door.

"What do you want?" Cornello sighed.

"Um, we have some visitors that would like to—" Rose started.

"Visiting hours are over" Cornello quickly interrupted.

"Father Cornello, it's the Flamel," Rose informed him. Cornello froze. She was currently the greatest vigilante, and she had come knocking on his doorstep. She _definitely_ figured out his plans. "It's really important, she wants to talk to you about some of the disappearances around town," Rose continued.

"Fine, come in," He said, moving to open his door. In walked Rose, then Flamel, then her sidekick, Fullmetal. Fullmetal took a place on one of his couches, sitting lazily and looking board. Rose stood by Cornello's desk, quietly off to the side. Flamel took a spot in the center of the rug that lied between Cornello's desk, and the door.

Cornello felt beads of sweat drip down the back of his neck. Flamel glared at him, her stair putting him out of ease. She was the most intimidating person he'd ever come across. She wore a white, sleeveless tailcoat, buttoned to her chest, with a flipped color, revealing a black tattoo of a flamel on her skin. Sprouting from under her coat, were the small tails of a gold vest, then dark grey leggings, and sturdy, black boots. On her hands where white, handless gloves that covered her for-arm. Adding on her wild hair, and the white mask that covered the skin around her eyes, and hid her hairline. She was truly the most intimidating thing he had ever seen.

Suddenly, she threw up a mouthful of blood.

"Teacher!" Fullmetal shouted out in concern and surprise, running to his mentor with a small container of pills, latching his arm to her side to prop keep her from possibly falling. Flamel grabbed one from the container and popped it into her mouth, swallowing it down without water. "I'm alright" She told her sidekick, unlatching her arm from his.

"Um," Cornello said, unsure of what to do in this situation. She was his enemy, and if she died on the rug at this moment things would be a lot easier for him, but that didn't have to stop him from being a gentleman. "Would you like to sit down?" He asked, slightly awkwardly.

"No, I'm fine," She said, recomposing herself, and wiping off the blood on her chin with her hands. She straitened her back, and crossed her arms, giving Cornello the intimidating glare again. And considering her teeth where now stained red with her blood, she looked scarier than before, despite her... strange moment of weakness.

"Are you sure your alright?" Rose asked.

"I'm fine. We should get down to business now," Flamel insisted. She then looked Cornello straight in the eye, her dark grey eyes boring holes into his head. "Mr. Cornello, you claim to be the prophet of a sun god known as Leto, do you not?"

"Well, I do because I am. I had an enlightening experience when I saw one of Leto's angles. She gave me her touch, allowing me the power to create miracles," He explained. Of course, it wasn't an angle that "touched" him, but the mysterious woman who gave him the philosopher's stone.

"That sounds ridiculous," Fullmetal muttered to himself from where he stood, prompting his mentor to give him a smack to the back of the head. "He didn't hear me," Ed hissed.

"More ridiculous then however you gained your powers, superhero?" Cornello countered, making it obvious that he _had_ heard Ed's comment.

"Fair enough," Flamel answered, before her sidekick could impulsively say something else. "You used your powers to fix this town, and give them money, correct?"

"Of course"

"You do know it's illegal to make gold, right?"

"Sometimes a vigilante has to ignore the law to do good. Isn't that right?"

"You seem noble. But why start a religion? I don't think that's a necessary step to doing good,"

"Because I simply wanted to spread the words of Leto. After all, I am his prophet,"

"That seems logical," Flamel admitted. "But, if I believed that all you where doing was the work of an average priest, with the addition of superpowers, of course, I wouldn't be here"

"Then what motivated you to come to Lior?" Cornello asked, hoping he didn't look to nervous.

Flamel pulled a pice of paper out from what might have been a back pocket. Cornello didn't know where the pocket was, but sincerly hoped the only thing inside it was that innocent piece of paper.

"Michel Chiron," Flamel began to read. "Elizabeth Mannerin, Connor McCravin, Jamie Lyle, Damian Lyle, Timothy Shrew, Tom Brandon, Christopher Moon, Aria Norwick, Freya Shire, Terra Clivier, Samuel Scarlett, and Alexandrea Flamenciel" After all the names where read, Flamel placed the paper back in her pocket. "Those are the names off missing or dead people in Lior," Flamel glanced at Fullmetal, giving him a chance to speak. As much as his snide remarks usually pissed people off, he had a talent in laying out the facts.

"Each of those people had one thing in common; they did not believe in Letoism. In fact, an old friend of Michel Chiron said that Michel had openly opposed Letoism, saying that you had selfish goals behind it. Nobody believed him, but I don't think it's much of a coincidence that he died on a camping trip a week later,"

"We did an autopsy on Mr. Chiron's body," Cornello claimed. "He simply died of a health issue. And the issue appeared to have been plaguing him for years"

"But your superpowers are quite unique," Fullmetal continued, an intimidating smirk on his face. "If I'm not mistaken, you can reanimate small, dead animals. I don't think faking a health issue would be that difficult for you,"

Cornello looked nervous. Everyone noticed it, including Rose. She didn't like his nervous look. She had been desperately hoping that Cornello didn't kill all those people, but by the looks of it, he might have. Still, it didn't matter. As long as Cornello brought joy to the people and as long as he brought Cain back for her, it didn't matter, didn't it?

"What's your point?" Cornello asked nervously.

"I think we made our point quite clear, baldy" Fullmetal groaned.

"We think you killed all the people I mentioned, or at least where behind their deaths." Flamel explained, as if she hadn't already made it clear.

"That's absurd!" Cornello spat out after some hesitation. "I've been nothing but kind and generous to the people of this town, right, Rose?"

"Of course!" Rose shouted, "He's never done anything to hurt someone! And all those dead people? You don't have to worry about them! Soon, Cornello will bring them back to life, and they'll be able to tell you how they died!"

Ed looked at her with a face that read 'what are you, crazy?' Izumi sighed. "The dead don't come back to life" She said straightly. "That's a lesson I've learned well,"

"But he brings back dead animals! I've seen him do it!" Rose reasoned.

Ed took a dead bird out of one of his pant pockets. Both Rose and Cornello gave him a strange look, but Flamel seemed completely unsurprised. "Then why don't you show us an example," Ed taunted, handing Cornello the bird.

Cornello grabbed the birds corpse, looking from it to the superheroes in the room. He knew this was going to end badly for him.

A red glow emitted from his hand, noticeably the hand with a gold ring with a red stone on it. Both Flamel and Fullmetal took note of that detail. The bird stood up, and soared into the air, chirping happily, and flying around the room.

"See, didn't I tell—" Rose stopped mid-sentence when the bird fell at her feet, once again dead.

"They say a chicken can live up to 18 months without it's head, because it's motor neurons keep firing. That's all he's doing with that bird" Fullmetal explained.

"So what if I can't really resurrect dead animals!" Cornello shouted. "I've only began to tap into the potential my power holds! I'll be able to resurrect the dead soon!"

"Bullshit," Ed said casually. "You don't actually have powers, don't you? What you have is a small gem on your ring, that can give you incredible power, but it can't do the impossible."

"What are you talking about?!" Cornello shouted.

"I'm talking about the Philosophers Stone! It's how you've been performing your miracles, right?"

Cornello let his mouth fall slightly a gap. He quickly closed it.

"Does that mean," Rose said from where she was standing, a dark, hopeless look in her eyes. "Does that mean you can't bring my darling back to life!?" She cried.

Cornello sighed. He couldn't deny the fact that he had no superpowers at this point, but there was one more thing he could do. "Rose, dear, while I may not actually be a prophet of Leto, my powers are real enough. I will resurrect your dead boyfriend. But I need a favor from you first. You see the top drawer closest to your hand. Open it, and take out it's contents"

Rose did so, revealing it to be a gun. She looked at the weapon in shock.

"Now, I need you to shoot these two Vigilante's" Cornello said.

"What?!" Rose wailed.

"Shoot them Rose," Cornello commanded. "Shoot them and kill them. If they leave this place alive, they might destroy me. Then you'll never get your boyfriend back. Now kill them." At this, Cornello ran out the door, slamming it behind him.

"Go after Cornello. I'll figure out what to do with Rose," Flamel commanded her sidekick.

"Really!?" Fullmetal responded excitedly.

"You do want to become your own superhero, right?" Flamel reasoned.

Fullmetal nodded, and went running out of the room, leaving just Rose and Flamel to confront each other. Rose pointed the gun at the Vigilante in front of her, arms shaking as she felt the cold metal in between her fingers.

Flamel sighed sadly. "You've never actually held a gun before, haven't you, Miss Thompson?" When Rose said nothing, Flamel continued. "It's frightening, isn't it? Holding the power to take a life in your hands. I have the same power too. If I want to, I can melt off your skin, dry you out of your blood, or simply destroy your body. But I choose not to take lives. I have only ever killed once, and I don't plan to kill ever again,"

"I'm sorry," Rose told her. "I have to do this! I want him back! I need him! He was all I had! I will do anything to bring him back, even if that means I have to kill you!"

Izumi watched as Rose's fingers found their way around the trigger. Rose shot one bullet. Flamel simply stepped to the side to dodge it, then came running towards Rose. Before Rose could fire a second bullet, Flamel kicked the gun out of her hands. As the gun flew into the air, Flamel pressed her hands together. A strange sound emitted from the clapping. Flamel caught the gun, and her hands glowed blue, sparking with lightning. When the light died down, the gun was no more. Instead, laying in Flamel's hands was a statue of a young boy, who couldn't have been older than four.

"How did you—" Rose began.

"That is my superpower. I clap my hands together to let the energy flow throughout my body. From there, I can channel the energy into the molecules in an object, and cause them to change, until the structure is something else. Fullmetal can do the same, but I have a feeling he's a bit more powerful than I am," Flamel explained.

"That looks like... Cornello's miracles..." Rose said.

"Our powers have been seen before. A famous vigilante known as Red Stone had them, but to a more powerful extent. Our type of powers was given the nickname 'alchemy'. Alchemy can do a lot of things, but it can't create something out of nothing. It also can't change the basic composition of an object; I couldn't turn the gun I transformed into a plant, or anything with water. But there is an old relic known as a Philosophers Stone. It has the power to do what alchemy can't; create something out of nothing, reanimate the dead for small amounts of time, turn organic matter into inorganic matter, and vice-versa. That's what Cornello has, and that's what he claims to be miracles,"

"If a philosophers stone is that powerful, couldn't _it_ bring someone back to life?" Rose asked, her voice desperate, as if she were begging Flamel to tell her it was possible.

"Catch," Flamel said instead, throwing the statue to Rose. Rose caught it, looking at the details. The boy had a plump face, and big, almond-shaped eyes. His hair was as wild as Flamel's was, and it was neck-length. Rose had a feeling that if she was able to see Flamel's face, she would look a lot like the little boy.

"I had a son, once," Flamel explained. "Just like you once had Cain. He came out a few months early, but he was able to life through it. I thought he would be with me for the rest of my life. Of course, his health then took a turn, and eventually, he died. I didn't want to live without him. So I tried to bring him back. Needless to say, I failed, and I lost my inner organs along with it. That's why I threw up the blood."

Rose looked at the vigilante in shock. "But.. just because you failed... it doesn't mean... it doesn't mean..." Rose couldn't finish the sentence.

"I learned something that day. I learned that the dead don't come back to life. That's all there is to it,"

"So he lied to me," Rose said, tears streaming down her face as she fell to her knees.

"I'm afraid so, Miss. Thompson,"

* * *

Fullmetal ran after Cornello as fast as he could. He had never been so excited. He would take down the bastard, use the philosopher's stone to finally accomplish his goal, and then become his own hero. As long as he didn't mess this up.

 _Your not gonna find what your looking for_.

'Shut up, it's right in front of me,'

 _It's not what your looking for_.

'I'll show you'

Fullmetal ran even faster to try and catch up with Cornello. He clapped his hands together, and transmuted the wind behind him so that the currents spun around his body and gave him a speed boost. He jumped, letting those currents launch him forwards, until he was less than a yard behind Cornello.

"Stop!" Fullmetal yelled, surprised when Cornello actually listened to him. He guessed Cornello wasn't one of the smartest villains.

"Or what?" Cornello taunted.

"Well, you just stopped right now so I guess nothing," Fullmetal replied back in a dull and unamused tone.

Cornello opened his mouth to defend himself, but then closed it. He then opened his mouth again, saying, "You Vigilante's think your so tough with your hand clapping trick! But can you do this?!" He shouted, touching the wall and pulling a sword from it. The wall had no dent, as it would if Ed did the same trick.

"Uh, yes," Fullmetal replied, clapping his hands together, touching the floor, and pulling a staff from the ground. A mini-crater was left on the floor.

Cornello charged at Fullmetal, swiping his sword. However, the man wasn't very good of a fencer, and Fullmetal disarmed him easily. Cornello then turned and ran down the hall, and through a door into another room. Fullmetal went to follow him.

Once Fullmetal entered the room, he noticed that it was made from sandstone, plane, and had a very bad lighting fixture. In the center of the room stood Cornello. To one side of him, sat a lion in a cage. In on another side, in another cage, sat a crocodile. In front of Cornello, in a small cage, was a chicken.

"Observe the power of the Philosopher's Stone!" Cornello shouted.

"So it was a Philosopher's Stone," Fullmetal whispered to himself with a smile.

Cornello pressed a button on a machine, which opened the cages. Both the crocodile and the lion went after the chicken to eat it, but when all three animals got close together, Cornello used the Philosophers stone, merging all three animals into one large, and hideous Chimera.

The animal howled in pain from being merged.

"Great, not only do you deceive and kill innocent people, you've just added animal cruelty to your grievance list," Fullmetal informed him. "And I was thinking of giving you the 'not-as-big-of-a-jerk-as-you-could've-been' award,"

"Chimera! Attack Fullmetal!" Cornello ordered. However, the creature just walked into it's cage, curled into a ball, and started to ignore the world. Fullmetal started laughing at this.

"You can't tell a cat what to do!" He laughed.

Cornello growled and destroyed the cage. He then touched the chimera's body, and red sparks surged through it. "Attack him!" Cornello shouted, pointing at Fullmetal.

The Chimera broke into a run, jumping at the young vigilante and slashing at his left leg. Cornello smiled wickedly as Fullmetal dramatically screamed out in pain. But then he noticed something else; a glimmer of steal underneath his pants.

Fullmetal's scream of pain dissolved into laughter. "Just kidding!" He shouted. He then brought his knee to the Chimera's chin, hoping to knock the animal out. However, the Chimera wasn't going down so easily.

The animal bit Fullmetal's right arm. Cornello was surprised when it didn't bleed. "Sorry, kitty, not gonna work,"

With a final punch from a steal hand, the Chimera was knocked out cold. Fullmetal sighed. "This is the fourth time this week my coat got ruined," He said bitterly.

"You have automail. I've wondered where the nickname 'Fullmetal' came from, but now I know!" Cornello laughed.

"Has part of your life been forfilled?" Fullmetal laughed mockingly.

Cornello growled.

"Give it up already," Fullmetal told him. "Your obviously a novice. There's no _way_ you can possibly defeat us,"

"We'll see about that!" Cornello shouted, placing his palm on the ground, and shooting spikes out of the earth. One of the spikes skimmed across the metal arm, denting his automail, and catching his coat in the shoulder, ripping it nearly in half. It began to fall off him, so Fullmetal pulled the rest of it off, throwing it away. The hood that obscured his face fell away, revealing Fullmetal's secret identity of Edward Elric.

"Looks like I know your identity now," Cornello laughed. If the kid was anybody else, he wouldn't have looked the least bit familiar. But Cornello did his research. He knew very little about the stone on his finger, but he did know it had some sort of connection to the wormhole experiment.

Nobody quite knew what went into the wormhole experiment, but they did know that it produced disastrous results, and only idiots would try it. There was a small list of those idiots who tried to attempt a wormhole experiment, and the name Edward Elric showed up as one of the most recent citizens who attempted it.

"So, are you one of the idiots who attempted the wormhole experiment?" Cornello asked mockingly. "Was that how you got your powers?"

"The way I got my powers is _my_ business," Edward snapped. "You don't even know what the wormhole experiment is!"

"I know that even the most novice of scientist know not to try it," Cornello explained. "Tell me, what is the purpose of a wormhole?"

"Wouldn't you like to know!" Ed yelled back, clapping his hands together. He set a row of hands after Cornello, who quickly ran in the opposite direction of them. He ran to the top of the stairs. Ed ran up after him. Cornello jumped over the stair railing, slid down one of the hands, and ran out the door, shutting it behind him. Ed quickly ran to the door, trying to yank it open, only to find it locked.

"Haha! Try getting yourself out that room now, Fullmetal!" Cornello laughed from the other side. Ed couldn't help but roll his eyes. What a dumbass!

Ed clapped his hands together, breaking the door lock with his powers, and then yanking it open. Cornello let out an embarrassingly high-pitched scream, and started running down the hall. However, Ed created a wall using alchemy, blocking his path. As Ed ran to Cornello's direction, he touched the ground with his ringed finger, creating a cage from the ground around Ed.

"So, this is the great Fullmetal! Some idiot kid who wanted to do the impossible. Am I wrong to assume you lost your arm and leg as result of the wormhole experiment?" Cornello guessed.

Ed scowled. "And what are you!? Some third rate who doesn't even have real powers! If I took away your Philosopher's stone, what would you be then!?"

"Your so self-righteous." Cornello sneered. "But if I remember correctly, you had a brother, didn't you? What happened to him? More specifically, what did _you_ do to him?!"

This one statement is what caused Ed to snap. He could take short jokes. He could take getting his ass kicked. He could take any sort of insult towards him that anyone could think of, even mention of the wormhole and his idiotic mistake. But his brother was a whole other story. And those who mentioned him in such a negative connotation would pay.

His mentor told him not to loose his temper. That order meant nothing to him anymore.

"You bastard!" Ed snapped from the top of his lungs. "What do you know!?" He clapped his hands together, turning the bars of the cage into a spear. Running out of the cage, the threw the spear at Cornello. Cornello then used his stone to dissolve the spear into dust. He then shot spikes towards Ed, who easily broke them with a clap of his hands. Ed then went crazy, summoning columns and fist and anything in between, all aiming them at Cornello, who used his stone to try and repel the hurling chunks of earth sent towards his face by the angry superhero.

Meanwhile, Flamel heard a large crash and rumble from where she was in Cornello's office. She grumbled, a scowl on her face. "Damn that brat, I told him not to destroy things!" She snapped, marching out of the office to the source of the crashes. Rose decided to follow the vigilante, hoping to figure out what was going on.

By the time Flamel finally made it to the site of destruction, the hallway was a mess of columns, spikes, and hands made from stone. There was a giant hole in one of the walls, and both Cornello and Fullmetal looked exhausted from the fight. Flamel groaned.

"What the hell, Fullmetal!?" She snapped. "What did I say about causing destruction,"

"Sorry!" Fullmetal squeaked out, suddenly realizing his mentor was there, and fearing for his life. Flamel just sighed, and walked over to Cornello, who was still panting from the fight.

"Give it up. You can't beat the both of us," She informed him.

"Yes I can! As long as I have the stone, I can do anything!" Cornello declared, touching a column, planing to turn it into a weapon. However, a shot of red light and a burst erupted around his arm, and it welded painfully with the stone he planned to transmute. With his arm fused to the column, he wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

"A rebound?" Fullmetal asked hesitantly. "But philosopher's stone's aren't supposed to rebound!"

"I will not be defeated!" Cornello shouted viciously, still in pain from the fusion. He then broke his arm off from the column, screaming in pain as he did so. He then plucked the stone off the ring (the metal band had stuck to the column), and used the stone to claps all the stone, letting it fall inwards, on top of Flamel, Fullmetal, and Rose. When the dust settled, all he saw was rubble.

"Well, looks like I killed my spokesperson along with everyone else," He smiled wickedly. "She can act as a marder. I'll use her death as a campaign to act on the rest of my plan,"

Cornello then went wondering off towards the direction of his library, hoping to figure out how to fix his arm.

Meanwhile, Flamel used her powers to open a small cave inside the rubble. Luckily for her, nothing fell on her. She dug her way around the rubble, looking for her sidekick. She finally found him.

"Edward!" She called to him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," He informed her. He was sitting up, leaning against some of the rubble, his right leg drawn into his chest, and his left leg crushed under the stone. "I can't say the same for my leg, however,"

The automail was crushed, but at least it wasn't his actual flesh. "Winry's gonna kill me," the boy groaned.

"Well, no use complaining about it. Get yourself out," Izumi commanded. Ed clapped his hands together and used his powers to create a tunnel over his smashed leg. The thing was flattened like a pancake, with bits of wires poking around the other directions. Ed sighed, and used alchemy to break the flattened part of the leg off.

"I'm gonna have to transmute myself a crutch when we get out of here," Ed grumbled.

"Winry's not gonna be happy about this," Izumi laughed.

"Don't remind me," Ed grumbled. "I mean, really, what's wrong with her? We're both superheroes, we both know this job requires some amount of risk taking,"

"You seem to take a lot more risk than necessary, however," Izumi lectured. "I'm almost afraid to let you go out on your own,"

"About this mission..." Ed mentioned, bringing up a subject he knew would come up eventually.

"You lost your temper again. And you caused a lot of destruction. Plus, you pissed off the witness. All three I've told you not to do. When will you learn?"

"He insulted my brother," Ed defended himself.

"Don't let those things get to you," She told him. "Every superhero has something that will get under their skin. If they let their temper loose every time, do you think this world would still be standing?"

"Probably not," Ed grumbled in response. "But there are some things I'm not gonna take,"

"And you have to _learn_ to take them. Because that's how the world works. You can't let your pain control you," Izumi made one final clap, opening a cave to where the third person laid.

Rose slowly sat up, looking to where the light was. It was still pitch black, but that moment of blue light told her that the vigilante's where getting her out.

Flamel crawled over to Rose, checking her for injuries. Besides the blood slowly pouring from her head, she was fine. "I'm honestly surprised your still alive, Rose," Flamel told her bluntly. "Your lucky that claps didn't crush you,"

"What's your opinion on Cornello now?" Fullmetal asked. When he noticed that Flamel _hadn't_ glared at him to shut up, he continued, "Cornello let the entire place claps, he didn't care that you where here,"

"But that's because..." Rose tried to justify, but she couldn't figure out what to say. "What about you, Fullmetal. You have the same powers as your mentor. Did you try to bring someone back to life too?" She asked.

Fullmetal looked over to his mentor, confused. "I told her about my child," Flamel clarified.

Fullmetal nodded. "Yeah, I did. I can tell you from experience that bringing the dead back to life is impossible,"

"But..." Rose cried, "Cain... he was going to come back to me... And Mr. Reginald, he was going to get his wife back. And Miss Layin would have her child again. Are you telling me we all had hope for nothing!?"

"It's the sad truth, Miss Thompson," Flamel told her. She clapped her hands once again, opening the rubble up for the last time, revealing their exit from the claps. All three crawled out, and Fullmetal transmuted himself a crutch to balance on.

"The people where being lied to..." Rose sighed in disbelief. "How could this happen?" She then turned to the two vigilantes, saying, "Your lying! Please tell me your lying!"

"After all that, she still believes in Cornello?" Fullmetal groaned out.

"That reminds me," Flamel said, "The townspeople aren't gonna believe us when we tell them Cornello can't do what he claims. Plus, they're not gonna see him as a danger to the town, as we know him to be. There's gotta be some way to convince them..."

"Well, the townspeople might not believe us, but they will believe Cornello," Fullmetal realized.

"I'm assuming you have an idea," Flamel said with a smirk.

"It's not the greatest idea ever, but it should work," Fullmetal explained.

"What do you have in mind?" Flamel asked, ready to hear what her sidekick had to say. However, she was also ready to shoot him down if the idea was to terrible.

* * *

After some refining, the two vigilantes came up with a plan. Flamel decided to let Fullmetal take the lead with the idea, hoping that she wouldn't regret that decision later. But, she always liked to say, 'There is no greater teacher than experience,'

Fullmetal sat in Cornello's office, waiting for the man to come up, so that he could set his plan in motion. Both Flamel and Rose where in position, one ready to release her wrath on the villain, and the other simply placed in a position where she wouldn't end up harmed. Fullmetal was feeling quite confident about the plan. After all, it was currently 6:00; Broadcast Hour.

Cornello stomped into his office, upset that he hadn't figured out a way to release his arm from the stone. All he really managed to do was fit a small spike on the tip of it, but other than that, his arm and the stone remained fused together. This was upsetting for him; the philosopher's stone was supposed to be all powerful, yet he couldn't figure out how to get his arm back to normal. He was less than pleased when he saw the superhero he thought he killed sitting on his office desk.

"What the hell?! I killed you! How are you here!?" Cornello snapped.

"Your little-cave in was less than effective," Fullmetal bantered. "But if it's any conciliation, you did crush my leg,"

Cornello looked down to see the broken automail leg, with a few small wires sticking out the bottom, while a make-shift crutch leaned against the desk next to it. Cornello let out a grumble.

"You insolent brat! Why don't you just die already?!"

"It's not happening, baldy."

"Where's your mentor!?" Cornello said frantically. "Where is the Flamel!?"

"Right now it's just you and me, buddy," Fullmetal vaguely answered. "So why don't you answer a few questions of mine. Just tell me what I wanna know, and I'll be on my way. Or a certain someone could leave an anonymous tip for the police. Then the State Superheroes would get involved. Having a few Vigilantes on your ass is one thing, but I wouldn't want the government cracking down on me, if I where you,"

"...Please," Cornello spat out after some hesitation. "A-as if I'm afraid of a few St-State Superheroes!" He stuttered out, betraying his own fears of the government.

"Oh really? Your not afraid of the Hawks Eye, or the Silver Cyborg. I heard Strong Arm was a nasty one. And Iron Blood. And wait, imagine the Flame coming after you. That would _not_ be ideal. Or how about Hailstorm. Would you like to face Hailstorm? 'Cause I definitely don't want to face Hailstorm. But then again, I don't think they'd send people like Flame or Hailstorm for a Third-Rate, but they would make a quick job of you,"

"Fine, I'll talk," Cornello relented. "What do you want to know?"

"You could do whatever the hell you want with something as powerful as a philosopher's stone. Why start a fake religion?" Fullmetal asked. "It seems like too much work if you ask me,"

"It is a lot of work," Cornello explained. "But with all the work I put into it, I reek a benefit that makes every inch of hardship worth it. I'm gathering an army, of loyal followers unafraid to die! Soon, I'll have enough people to make an army, and with this army, I'll rip this country apart! And they'll never see it coming. I've blinded the people of this town with false promises of bringing the dead back to life, and it's not like they care if they die. They think I'll just bring them back!"

"So you can't resurrect the dead?"

"Of course I can't. It's impossible, but the townspeople are too foolish to realize that!"

"And you killed the people who don't believe in your 'religion'"

"Well, I couldn't have them spreading doubt, that would ruin my plans,"

"So you where using these people the whole time?"

"Of course I was! These people can't tell the difference between miracles and superpowers! Those idiots _deserve_ the fate I have in store for them!" Cornello then started laughing. "With these people, I'll take over this country, and sit at the top of it as it's king! I'll have money, power, everything I desire. And who know's, maybe I can carve out a slice for you!" His laugh got more maniacal by the second. Eventually, Fullmetal couldn't help himself, and started laughing with the man.

"Wait, why are _you_ laughing?" Cornello asked, confused.

"Man, you really are a third rate. You just told me everything I wanted to hear," Fullmetal then picked up a switch. One side said on, the other said off. Then there was the microphone on the floor, and Cornello's sudden realization that it currently radio hour.

"YOUR KIDDING!?" He shouted at the top of his lungs. "How long has that been on?!"

"From the start. Your entire plan has been exposed to the townspeople,"

Meanwhile, throughout the town, everyone had their radio's on, and everyone heard what Cornello had said. And everyone was shocked.

"You brat! I'll kill you for this!" Cornello shouted, but was stopped when the door suddenly slammed behind him, revealing Flamel.

"Give it up already," She demanded. "You're plan has been exposed, your outnumbered, and your outmatched,"

"I will not fail!" He shouted, using the stone once again. However, it barely lit up with red sparks before fizzling out. The stone lost it's shine, and began to break. Cornello dropped it to the floor, scared it would once again rebound on him. As soon as he did so, the thing crumpled to dust, and faded away.

Both Flamel and Fullmetal looked at where the stone once was in shock. "But..." Fullmetal said, "It's supposed to be perfect material! How could it break like that?!"

"It's must be a fake. But it was so powerful..." Flamel replied, just as confused as her sidekick. She then turned to Cornello. "What the hell!?" She snapped. "Why'd it break?"

"I don't know! I don't know anything about the stone. Please, don't kill me!"

"Shut up," Flamel demanded.

"Yes ma'am!" Cornello replied.

Fullmetal sunk to the ground in despair. "Just when I thought I'd be able to get us back to normal!" He said.

Rose peaked out from her hiding place behind the desk, tears still in her eyes. "It's... gone?" She said quietly.

"I don't get it," Flamel hummed to herself. "I didn't think the stone could break. Maybe it was never a philosophers stone in the first place. Must have been a similar artifact or something..."

Cornello looked at the two distracted superheroes. He eyed the small spike on his disfigured hand he accidentally created earlier. 'Now's my chance for revenge!'He thought.

He ran up to Fullmetal, but he wasn't exactly quite about his sneak attack, shouting "Feel the mighty blow of God's Wrath!"

Fullmetal easily dodged the attack, springing away with his one good leg. He then transmuted the room into a giant statue of Leto. "YOU CAUSE ME ALL THIS TROUBLE, REVEAL THE STONE TO BE A FAKE, AND THEN YOU TRY TO KILL ME!" He shouted angrily as the entire room shifted into the statue. "WHY DON'T YOU SUFFER GOD'S WRATH FOR A CHANGE!" The statue formed a fist, which stretched out and punched Cornello in the face. When the transmutation was done, Fullmetal noticed that the office, and a large chunk of the church, was entirely destroyed, Rose had been tossed about the room, and Flamel looked less than pleased.

"WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT DESTROYING STUFF!" She snapped. Just then, Fullmetal realized his mistake.

"Oh," He squeezed out.

* * *

After wrapping things up, tipping off the police that they would need a government official to come arrest Cornello, and alerting them off the blow up that might happen in Lior, Fullmetal and Flamel turned to get to their car. They needed to take Ed to Rush Valley to fix his leg.

"I'm guessing I'm not graduating anytime soon," Fullmetal grumbled.

"You don't seem to learn from your mistakes," Flamel lectured.

"Yeah yeah, you can lecture me when we get home," He grumbled.

"What am I going to do now?" Came a distressed voice. Flamel and Fullmetal eyed a figure standing in front of their car; Rose. "That hope was all I had left. What am I supposed to believe in now?" The young woman dropped to her knee's. "What am I gonna do. Tell me what I'm supposed to do!"

"I can't do that." Flamel told her. "It's not my place,"

"But... what am I...?"

"Just, stand up and walk," Fullmetal told her. "You've got two pretty good legs. Use them. Move forwards,"

"But—" Rose protested.

"Only you can forge your own path," Flamel told her, getting into her car. "But if you need a hand, I'll be in Dublith," Izumi started up her car, and began to drive away from the church.

 _I told you you wouldn't find what your looking for_.

'But I will eventually,' Ed responded. 'I will fix you, Alphonse,'

* * *

A few hours later, a league of MP's came to Lior to try to get control over the situation. There where plenty of protestors wanting Cornello's head, but as far as the MP's knew, Cornello was still inside the church.

However, when they finally found Cornello, the MP's where left with a surprise; it was just his corpse, with what looked like a few bights taken out of him, and a large hole in his head.

"Well, well, well," State Superhero Flame said upon seeing the corpse. His sidekick, Hawks Eye, looked over his shoulder at the corpse, her face unreadable as always. "What do we have hear?" The black haired superhero asked, his hands preparing to snap, should the one responsible come out.

However, the one's responsible for Cornello's murder wasn't coming out. Instead, they watched the church from a nearby rooftop.

"I was a bit nervous when the Vigilante's showed up, instead of the State Superheroes," A black haired woman told her the large man standing next to her. "But it seems everything worked out in our favor,"

* * *

 **And done! There we go! Now the action is starting to kick in. Obviously, Ed didn't really listen to Izumi's advice, but he will learn someday! And the first appearance of Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye. And if you can guess who was talking at the end, you get a cookie! But it was probably obvious.**

 **Anywho, I don't really have much to say, but leave a review! I hope you liked this chapter.**

 **~MotherUniverse signing out!**


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